Recovery Gear that works for YOUR vehicle
Let’s face it, most people don’t PLAN on going out and getting stuck. It just happens. Being prepared for the most common “what-ifs” is the best way to start. Murphy will always find a way to put you in a situation outside of your skill level, the vehicle’s capability, or someone else’s version of those scenarios. In my experience, I’ve used my recovery gear 90+% of the time to help someone else out in need. Sometimes it’s just a small tug to get out of a snowbank at the snowpark, or a tow to get out of a roadside ditch. The more confidence you build and the more capable your rig, the more in-depth your recovery kit should become.
If you generally stay in well traveled areas or go out with other vehicles, the very minimal basics should include at least one solid/rated recovery point on the vehicle but preferably one on both the front and rear. A strap to connect two vehicles to help each other out, preferably a high quality kinetic rope. And lastly a couple of ways to connect the rope to the recovery points. Generally a combination of hard and soft shackles.
If you spend more time traveling by yourself and in remote areas, you need to be better equipped to “self-recover” generally this consists of items such as traction devices and winches with the correct accessories to properly use those items.
Stay tuned for a future blog that dives deeper into the options and different needs for different scenarios. In the meantime, feel free to reach out to discuss your specific needs.
RECOVERY GEAR BY VEHICLE TYPE
This is a source of big debate but general rule is most of us drive crossovers to full-size pickups up to 1 ton. The gear used for this middle-weight class is pretty universal and will work from a 4,000 lb crossover to a 8,000 lb truck. Rule of thumb is to make sure that your Working Load Limit (WLL)* of your gear is more than the largest vehicle you plan to use it for. For example, you might have a mid-size SUV like a Toyota 4Runner BUT when you’re out and about, you’ll regularly run across full size pickups that you may need to help recover or to recover yourself. So, plan accordingly.
AFFORDABLE VS PREMIUM OPTIONS
There are a seemingly ENDLESS variety of gear options out there to choose from. When choosing gear ALWAYS look for gear that has an official tagged or stamped WLL AND preferably certified destructive breaking test data AND the minimum breaking strength rating that comes with these other ratings. For example, many of the quality hard shackles and soft shackles have a 4.5 ton or 5 ton WLL for your typical on road driven vehicle (9000 lb and 10,000 lb rating respectively). These will ALSO have a secondary breaking strength of 5x that! (50,000 lbs). If your gear does not have these ratings with certifications to go with them, stay away. Your safety and those of others could depend on it.
“GO BAG” ESSENTIALS
First, a Go Bag isn’t just Overlanding specific. It is a great all around tool for protection against common scenarios that life can throw at you.
There will always be a debate on the “must-haves” of a go bag and will vary greatly depending on your specific circumstances, training, etc.
For this scenario we’ll focus on the minimum that everyone should keep in their vehicle. Basic First Aid. Multi-Tool. Emergency water bottle/s. Shelf stable “energy bars”. Emergency blanket. Weatherproof jacket. Lithium battery/jump pack.
LIGHTWEIGHT VS FULLY PREPARED
We’ll fully go into this in a later post that focuses on vehicle preparedness but for the basics to start, the aforementioned staples in a small, easy to grab backpack would suffice and then build from there based on individual needs, wants, and skills.
REAL-LIFE EXAMPLE? YOU BET
You’re headed out for just a day trip to get one last hike in before the weather turns in the fall. The weather is beautiful, the hike up to the hidden lake is great and you’re having a great time. You look up from your peaceful respite by the lake and see dark ominous crowds rolling in and know you should probably get back to the car. You chug the last of your water you brought with and work up a sweat booking it back down to the car. You get to the car, flop in and turn the key…nothing, your car is dead. You remember your jump pack in your Go Bag. You try jumping your car, it works! Great! You’re on you way home! ORRR the jump pack doesn’t work and now you’re stranded alone on a remote trailhead, sweaty in shorts and t-shirt, your car won’t start, your phone is dying from taking a million photos and that early winter storm is rolling in hard. If you had nothing else, at best it could mean a VERY miserable time nearly freezing to death while you wait for someone to come rescue you. But if you have your Go Bag, you have extra water, some high energy food to conserve, a jacket and blanket to keep you warm, and a battery pack to help keep your phone charged to keep in contact while someone comes to the rescue.
WHAT MAKES A TIRE “GOOD” FOR OVERLANDING
Be realistic about your use. Mud terrains work best in just what they advertise, mud, deep snow, etc. but generally have pretty terrible road manners and can get down right scary in some on road wet and icy conditions. Look for more of an all terrain with a 3 Peak mountain snowflake rating that designates them as a good tire in snowy and wet conditions. Match your load rating to your vehicle’s max loaded weight. Under rating your tire can cause overloading blow-outs odd wear due to tread and sidewall flex. OVER rating your tire can make for an unnecessarily rough ride due to the stiff sidewalls and added weight.
BRANDS AND TIRES WE TRUST
We stick with tried and true brands. Take a second and think about what tires do. They connect a heavy metal enclosed box with precious cargo inside to the ground underneath it. You’re literally asking them to be the first line of defense against crashing. When you think about it that way, you really WANT to spend the added cost to get a high quality tire that fits your needs. Don’t cheap out on tires.
One of our current favorite tires is the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T. It ticks the boxes that MOST off road and overlanders would want in a tire. A nice aggressive looking all terrain that performs very well in just about every category you throw at it on or off road. It is quiet and has great road manners for how aggressive it is, 3 peak mountain snowflake rated, 50k mile treadwear warranty, etc.
Other notable tires are offered by Toyo, Falken, Cooper, and BF-Goodrich just to name a few.
ROOKIE TIRE MISTAKES
The two biggest mistakes we see are wanting to go too big without considering the downsides and what it takes to reliably run much larger tires. And wanting to go to a VERY aggressive mud terrain just for the look. While it can be done, there are a lot of downsides to this on a daily driven rig. Mainly road noise, fuel mpg drop, harder to keep balanced, and generally not as good on road in inclement weather.
These are just a few essentials to take into consideration when making your first purchase upgrades.
Stay tuned for Part 2 where we’ll dig into even more gear, tips, and trail-tested advice for getting started with confidence.
